UK Leader Roasted After Leaving D-Day Events Early

President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made time to attend the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, but the UK's prime minister had an election season TV interview scheduled. So Rishi Sunak left France for home, and the UK was represented by its king and queen, as well as Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who used to be prime minister—but not the current occupant of the office held by Winston Churchill on June 6, 1944. After an outcry, Sunak expressed regret on Friday. "On reflection, that was a mistake and I apologize," he said, NBC News reports.

Rivals' criticism came from:

• Labor Party: "Rishi Sunak will have to answer for his choice. ... For me there was only one choice. ... There was nowhere else I was going to be."—Keir Starmer, who attended the ceremony Thursday, per the AP
• Liberal Democrats: "A total dereliction of duty"—Ed Davey, per the Hill
• Reform Party: "Patriotic people who love their country" should not vote for Sunak.—Nigel Farage
• More Labor Party: "Given that the prime minister has been campaigning on the idea young people should complete a year's national service, what does it say that he appears to have been unable to complete a single afternoon of it?"—defense spokesman John Healey, per the Guardian

His allies' criticism came from:

• A former Cameron aide: "It was a huge error of judgment" that gave the impression Sunak "put politics before what really matters."—Craig Oliver
• Sunak's veterans minister: A "significant mistake."—Johnny Mercer

Sunak, who had spent a day and a half at D-Day events in England and France, followed up his apology with, "I think it's important, though, given the enormity of the sacrifice made, that we don't politicize this." With the election less than a month away, that seems a challenge. Some polls have shown his Conservatives more than 20 points behind Starmer's Labor. A 98-year-old D-Day veteran said that while Sunak let the country down, his own expectations were met. "I don't have a great regard for politicians," Ken Hay told Sky News. (More Rishi Sunak stories.)